What Was the Question Again?
by mmooch
Summary: **Part of the 'Telling a Different Way' series** Fred takes a crack at the official vampire/demon/Slayer explanation.


**What Was the Question Again?**

Summary: **Part of the 'Telling a Different Way' series** Fred takes a crack at the official vampire/demon/Slayer explanation.

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Timeline: after _'Fredless'_, but Fred left with her parents and a slight canon change to BtVS. Soon after, she was approached by the SGC.

Challenge: #5745 '_'The World is Older Than You Know'_...remix' by GottaLUVmyth.

A/N: Tiniest mention of Abby Scuito, but she's not really part of the story.

Thanks to my betas: unbeta'd this time.

Disclaimer: AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. Stargate characters belong to Brad Wright, Jonathan Glassner, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and SyFy Channel. NCIS characters belong to Donald Bellisario, Don McGill and CBS Paramount Television. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

* * *

General Hammond sat there, bemused at the young lady jabbering away like a squirrel on Caf-Pow. He thought he was used to the excited ramblings of his niece, Abby, but this Winifred Burkle put her to shame. For the last 30 minutes, he and SG-1had listened to her explanation, and in that time, he doubted that he saw her take more than ten breaths. Maybe Dr. Jackson or Captain Carter were having better luck following what she said. He hoped that was the case.

With that in mind, he held up his hand to stop the newest addition to the SGC. "Please, Miss Burkle, I think we have our answer now."

Jack just snorted in his usual snarky manner, "Really? I forgot what the question was."

Seeing the young genius blush at the Colonel's words, Sam snapped as much as she could without being insubordinate, "She was just explaining where she disappeared to for five years before finishing her degree and accepting an assignment here…_sir_," she tacked on quickly to avoid reprimand.

Not the least bit upset by the spirit his 2IC was showing, Jack bit back the grin he felt coming on. "So you understood what she told us?" he demanded, only half-expecting her to say 'no'.

It was Carter's turn to flush in embarrassment. Truthfully, she only caught about two-thirds of the explanation. A quick look at Daniel showed he probably didn't fare much better.

"WinifredBurkle went through a portal without the use of a Stargate to another dimension, spent five years there, was rescued by a vampire with a soul and his co-workers, came back to our dimension with them, and was finally reunited with her parents," Teal'c answered, shocking everyone in the room into silence – both that he understood her, and that he was speaking more than just a few words. "During that reunion, they fought a cockroach-type demon whose guts dried into a 'pretty crystalline formation'."

"She also explained about meeting a young lady after she left the vampire's group who was – or still _is_ – a Slayer?" At Fred's nod, he continued, "Somebody with special abilities who is able to fight evil vampires and other sorts of demons. She wanted to meet the person who captured her 'handsome man's heart' instead of listening to the jealous ramblings of the young lady who worked with the vampire and the former Watcher of this particular Slayer.

"It sounds like she struck up a much-needed friendship with the Slayer – who had just returned from the dead after close to five months. The people who worked with her did not realize the damage they had done to her by bringing her back to life; they assumed they were saving her, but in fact they had pulled her from her place of rest due to her as a warrior. With WinifredBurkle's friendship to give her balance, the Slayer has kept from making some rather foolish choices. WinifredBurkle indeed sounds like a good addition to the SGC," the stoic Jaffa concluded with a nod of respect in her direction – which only caused her to blush furiously again, but this time not _solely_ because of embarrassment.

"That's pretty much it…except for me not wanting to go through the Stargate for _any_ reason. I know that it isn't the same thing as what happened to me before, but I just can't do it. I'll be happy to do anything you need me to do here in the mountain though," Fred hastily added in her soft Texas twang, not wanting to talk herself out of a job.

Knowing that they had more than enough work to keep her busy for the next decade or two, General Hammond reassured her, "That's quite alright, Miss Burkle. Even people who haven't experienced the ordeal that you have are reluctant to go through the Stargate."

* * *

Once she left the room with most of SG-1 to take a tour of the facilities, Jack turned to him and asked, "Are we sure she isn't insane or something?"

"No more than the rest of us, Jack," Hammond replied dryly. They walked back to his office while he explained, "The Chief of Staff of the Air Force warned me that her story was hard to believe, but said he had concrete proof that she was telling the truth. Something to do with that Slayer she mentioned."

"Kinda makes you want to meet the woman, doesn't it? Her life sounds as strange – or _stranger_ – than ours," Jack quipped thoughtfully.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so I've decided to do a series of oneshots for this challenge. As Musie gets an idea, I'll write and post them.


End file.
